Ok, so I might like it a bit

[bumpkin]

Hi all, you may remember my post a week or so ago when I'd just got my forfour pulse after trading in my astra.

Well....

I've had it checked out and it's fine so now I can relax and start to enjoy it. The question is though, does anyone know where I can buy cheap interior parts to pretty it up a bit? At the very least maybe a good fitting set of seat covers? The outside of mine is nice but inside looks a bit tired.
Money is tight, so any tips or suggestions that don't break the bank would be really appreciated.

[problemchild1976]

Re: Ok, so I might like it a bit

You will have to be careful wih seat covers due to the side airbags......

Interior trims (such as pod rings etc) can either be bought from merc for about £20 a pair or you can get a can of rattle spray from halfords and paint/colour them however you want

Or try some 3M carbon film

The car really is a lovely, unique little head turner

JJ

[wh666]

Re: Ok, so I might like it a bit

Hey bumpkin, glad you're enjoying it. Hahaha we knew you'd enjoy it a bit. *chants: One of us, one of us, one of us*

I've only just had my forfour a bit longer than you. Mine is the same story, needs some sprucing up on the inside. So far, all I've done is restore the radio. My radio screen looked like someone had smeared butter on it and left it in the sun. It was a horrible residue like dried glue. But I have a plastic restorer and glass scratch repair kit which cost under £15. Just put the attachment on the end of my hand drill and plastic restorer polish on the pad and polished all the **** off, now it looks like a brand new radio unit. Will be fine until I replace it. I'm thinking of a bluetooth nav touchscreen radio, funds permitting.

The inside plastics pick up scuffs, so I will go around and polish it all up as well. As for all the silver trim, the rings around vents, the electric window switch tray, etc etc, I will remove and paint. Make sure when you paint plastic, you sand down, lightly coat with plastic primer, leave to dry and they lightly dust with proper topcoat. It will give you a far better finish. I'm thinking a mirrored chrome effect.

Seat covers as ProbChild said, isn't the best idea. Aside from being dangerous, slippy and covering your airbags, they really do look tacky beyond belief. My seats are frayed/torn on the side bolsters and the foam has slipped, which seems like a common complaint. What I plan to do is cut it open a bit more, to re-arrange the foam, then sew up, then cut a patch the same size and sew in to the seams on top, so you cant tell it's double layered and should give it more strength. I will use the same fabric to refresh the door cards and the dash fabric. Luckily, the OH is a seamstress on the side, which is handy. The fabric wont cost you much at all. If you lived nearer, I'd offer you to bring your car around so she could fix that for you.

My carpet has a small hole in, so I'm gonna get thin industrial carpet or car carpet and cut it to size, a horrible fiddly job but hey. I will also get an aluminium heel guard and pedals as well to compliment the outside colour. All those materials won't cost much and be miles cheaper than buying an actual smart carpet refit.

I need to give it a full valet inside at some point. I will do that after I get a full service sorted over the next week. On your black bits of trim, which there are very few of, if they are faded and you don't want to paint them, B&Ms do a good black trim restorer, makes non colour coded bumpers on other cars and trim inside look new.

The forfour is easy enough to clean. Removed and put the glovebox back for example. This allowed me to take it inside and wash it out really well. Universal handbrake covers and gear gaiters will refresh tired torn ones and are cheap as chips off ebay. A fancy gearknob will bling your car up.

[bumpkin]

Re: Ok, so I might like it a bit

thanks chaps, still chuckling at "one of us". its surprising how the character does actually grow on you, and my knee jerk reaction was obviously nothing more than a tantrum for having to get rid of the astra. I plan to do an mpg check next time i get petrol, whenever that is!its still on 6 bars from well over a week ago, so its looking good which makes me like it a whole lot more.
i appreciate the advise on seats, maybe i'll just keep an eye out for someone breaking a set, although i am not sure at £75 per front seat etc, funds are tight, so i may have to just give it some love in the meantime and give it a proper valet inside and get it looking as good as it could. i am lucky there are no tears or rips, it just looks like someones spent the last 2 years living in it. as i am in the process of moving, this could be a little while though, so in the meantime i may have to part with £10 of my hard earned cash and get it seen to by my friendly eastern european car cleaners who do a pretty fair job.
i have to say i am surprised how few after sales bits can be bought for the car, i think it must be a mercedes thing, as the A class i had was the same, although that car never looked cool no matter how much i washed it.
just so you all know, my car total ownership is now 29 in my lifetime so far. although i have slowed down in the last few years, its no surprise i have had my favourites in the past, although most cars nowadays tend to be for a couple of years. so if we work it out, the rumours of the new forfour in a couple of years might be well timed and i could look at getting a new one if everything works out ok